


Echoes from the Past

by ichiharu23



Category: Sengoku Basara
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-31
Updated: 2016-03-10
Packaged: 2018-05-10 17:07:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 15,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5594149
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichiharu23/pseuds/ichiharu23
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Honnoji, Kyoto. It would have been a good historical school trip, had the four of them not end up getting caught in this weird, dark, otherworldly place, with a group of crazed samurai running after them with their swords drawn. Mitsunari, pissed with the situation, turned to glare sharply at a fearful Ieyasu, “IEYASU! This is all your fault! Think of something!!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Canon material + Modern / Reincarnation + some actual history blended in together to form some pretty weird mixture

[ **Author’s Note:** Was reading historical records, digging pixiv’s「魔王と狸」(Demon King and Tanuki) tag, and reading Utage and SB4′s Nobunaga-Ieyasu dialogues (Asking him to come back to you, Nobunaga-kou? That’s so sweet~... :’) ). Then my head just suddenly exploded with ideas... Aah, pixiv people are creative. I’m satisfied~ Bless.]

+++++

【 **Chapter 1: Invitation** 】

Honnoji, Kyoto.

It would have been a good historical school trip, had the four of them not end up getting caught in this weird, dark, otherworldly place, with a group of crazed samurai running after them with their swords drawn. Luckily, they were able to hold them back outside a decrepit temple complex for the meantime.

“MASAMUNE-DONO! These doors won’t hold much longer! Do something--UWAH!!” Yukimura demanded, barely evading a sword that pierced through the wooden gates he was trying to hold shut.

“I’M THINKING, _ALRIGHT_?! We can’t seem to reason with them, and I don’t think we have the option to fight them barehanded!” his classmate replied in frustration, looking around for an escape route.

Mitsunari, equally pissed with the situation, turned to glare sharply at a fearful Ieyasu, “IEYASU! This is all your fault! Think of something!!”

Ieyasu gritted his teeth, cold sweat running down his face, unsure of what to do.

\---

_\- Earlier that day -_

“Haaa~ What nice sunshine!!” Motochika exclaimed, stretching as he came out of the bullet train. It had been a long ride, but he had certainly been looking forward to this. He grinned as he read ‘Kyoto Station’ on the platform’s notice board.

“The beautiful maiko and geisha of Kyoto! Say hi to anikiii--!!” he cheered.

But his joy was cut short by Motonari elbowing him aside to make his way out of the train.

“Fool! We did not come here for that. This is a school trip to study the history and historical sites of this place. Stop ruining it with your perverted thoughts,” Motonari, to whom studies and learning were sacred, reprimanded him.

“Hey, Mouri~ Have fun once in awhile, wouldn’t you? Hahaha!” Motochika laughed.

Well, they certainly were having their own fun, alright. Next to come out of the train was Masamune with a groggy face, and he was certainly not in the best of moods.

He was definitely not a morning person, and this trip had forced him to wake up much earlier than usual in the name of preparation. How dare?! And a historical trip of all things! Who _cares_ about all those old men who died long ago, anyway? He’d rather be using this nice clear day to go hang out with his gang and ride his bike on a road trip or something.

The young man folded his arms and muttered under his breath as he watched Motochika and Motonari continue with their shenanigans. _Then_ Ieyasu came walking up to him with that annoying grin that had been plastered to his face since the previous week.

_‘Great... Here comes...,’_ Masamune cursed quietly.

“Dokuganryu!! We’re finally here! Are you not excited?!” his yellow-hooded classmate asked energetically, for possibly the hundredth time. “The Honnoji Incident, the climax of the life of the great warlord Oda Nobunaga... When we visit it today, we’ll finally be able to see it with our own eyes, and relive that magnificent historical event!”

There was an annoyingly bright spark in Ieyasu’s eyes, something that Masamune didn’t usually see. But however much his friend was trying to infect him with the excitement, he simply couldn’t see the point of it all, so he dragged his palms down his face.

“Hey, Ieyasu. What’s so great about the old guy, anyway? Why are you interested in him so much?”

“Hm? Why, of course! You’ve been listening in class about his conquests, haven’t you? He was a powerful warlord with a strong personality. People made a fool of him when he was younger, but he showed everyone that he was much more than that. I think it’s something to look up to!” Ieyasu beamed proudly.

“...Yeah? But they’ve also said that he ruled with an iron fist, trying to control the country with fear. Thought that wasn’t really your type?” Masamune asked, looking genuinely curious.

“.........,” Ieyasu looked at him, seemingly realizing it only after it was pointed out to him.

“Hmm, you might be right about that. I wonder...,” Ieyasu scratched the back of his head, thinking. He looked back at Masamune.

“But you know... There are times when you just like something for no reason, don’t you? Like, the moment you see it, something just clicked in your head. I think it’s something like that...,” he tried to explain.

“ _Hum_ ~... So you mean that there’s secretly a terror and oppression-loving tyrant in you?” Masamune teased, snickering mischievously.

“A-- What?! No! It’s nothing like that!” Ieyasu protested frantically as the other continued laughing, having fun watching his reaction.

“Hahaha, no worries, man! We’ve been together since we were kids, so I know you!” Masamune assured.

“Hey! You two over there!”

They stopped their conversation and turned to look. Mitsunari, with Yukimura in tow. Two very unlikely people to become best friends, but did nevertheless. Mitsunari was looking at them grumpily.

“Stop chatting. The bus will be leaving soon, so get moving!” He warned. “Come, Yukimura!”

“Yes, Mitsunari-dono!” Yukimura replied gleefully as he followed him, most likely excited about the trip.

Masamune and Ieyasu watched them walk away.

“Ishida and Sanada...? When the hell did they get friendly enough to call each other by their first names?” Masamune wondered aloud.

“There’s only a small number of people Mitsunari would allow to do that...,” Ieyasu mused.

The two shrugged at each other before running towards the rest of their classmates to regroup.

\---

Honnoji was indeed quite a sight to behold. After their tour guide had finished explaining the history of the place, everyone was left to do their own observations and take notes. Meet up again at the front gates when it was time to go home.

“Stop taking photos with the girls! We’re supposed to write a report on this for history class. Observe _properly_!” Motonari, as usual, wouldn’t leave Motochika alone the moment he saw something to disagree with.

“Ow! Hey! Good memories are also important! In fact, why don’t you come here and take a photo with us, too?” Motochika winked, inadvertently starting another bicker with the class’ genius.

A little away from them, Ieyasu was studying the main temple building, squinting very much at trivial details.

“Hmm? Something not to your liking?” Masamune asked, playing around with his mechanical pencil, seemingly quite bored.

“Hmm~ According to my research, this place used to be bigger. _Much_ bigger. Just a little sad to see that the entire complex had been reduced to only this much due to modernization...,” Ieyasu explained, a little disappointed.

“Heh, it’s something you can’t help, though.”

“True. Anyways, I’m done with observing the front. I’ll go around to the back of the main building and see if there’s something more to this,” Ieyasu grinned.

“Hm, okay,” Masamune replied, looking around. He spotted Yukimura and Mitsunari taking notes together at the purifying water pavilion, possibly standing a little. Too. Close. To each other.

“You go, then. I’ll go find out what’s actually up with those two,” Masamune snickered, pointing towards them with his thumb. Ieyasu grinned back at him playfully.

“Haha, alright then. Tell me about it later if you succeed!” he joked.

His friend gave him a confident thumbs up and they parted ways.

\---

There was... nothing much behind the building. No wonder no other student nor the guide headed this way. Ieyasu sighed, looking up at the temple building.

Some five hundred years ago, Oda Nobunaga was here with his wife and Ranmaru. Akechi Mitsuhide was here, out with his own army and a declaration to kill his own master. This place was burning with flames that tower to the skies. And Nobunaga died a tragic death at the height of his power.

_‘Were you alone? Did you... fear it...?’_

Random thoughts that came out of nowhere, as he pondered what it was like during the Demon King’s last moments.

_‘...-take... Itotake...’_

“...?!” Ieyasu snapped out of his thoughts and looked around, swearing that he heard something.

No one. Was he just imagining things?

“...Itotake?” he repeated, “Musical instrument*?”

What? It got him confused.

_‘...Itotake!’_

He jumped when he heard it again, coming louder and in a more demanding tone. He was pretty sure it came from the corner, near the walls surrounding the back of the building, so he turned that way.

And there he saw a gaping hole in the ground that he didn’t even notice before.

Was it just him or did it just, mysteriously _appear_? He approached it cautiously just to make sure. It seemed to be a cave of some sort.

With curiosity and nervousness, he peered into its deep, inviting darkness.

\---

“For the last time, there is NOTHING like that! Absolutely NOTHING!” Mitsunari yelled, beginning to lose his temper.

“Oooh, _sorry_! But I see that  _your_ Yukimura there is flaming red. Khehehe~,” Masamune prodded.

“MA-MASAMUNE-DONO!! I-I AM NOT!!” Yukimura denied, partially hiding behind his white-haired friend and trying to cover his face.

“Hehe, how cute~,” Masamune grinned, leaning in.

“Stop that now,” Mitsunari ordered, keeping him at arm’s length. He glanced at his watch.

“It would be lunch time soon. Where had Ieyasu gone? Wasn’t he supposed to be with you?”

“Meh, said he wanted to check out the back of the building, so he’s probably still hanging around there daydreaming about some warlord or something.”

“......,” Mitsunari walked past him, “Come, we’ll go and get him.”

\---

Calming down, the three rounded the main building and went behind it, while keeping an eye out in case their friend had returned. Even so, they didn’t catch any sight of him.

“ _Strange_. Thought he was supposed to be here...,” Masamune wondered, looking around the back of the building. Mitsunari followed him.

“Masamune-dono, Mitsunari-dono, look!” Yukimura called out, pointing towards the corner.

“Whoa, that’s one dang huge hole you’ve got there!” Masamune exclaimed.

“You think he slipped and slid in there?” Mitsunari asked.

“......,” Masamune looked at him, “Doesn’t sound impossible.”

So they walked over and studied the hole.

“Eww... Are these... seals?” Masamune asked, a little surprised by all the strips of paper with mantras on them stuck all over the hole’s entrance, and all over the walls of the cave inside when they peered in.

“Damnit, shouldn’t we call the priest here or something? There might be _something_ in there, and I’d rather we don’t piss it off. Or actually, if it’s like this, I think Ieyasu will have enough brains to keep away from this hole.”

He looked up at Mitsunari for his opinion, but the other just looked at him and motioned for him to look down again, so he did.

That object on the floor a little into the cave... Was that... Ieyasu’s notebook?!

_‘Don’t tell me something happened and he fainted in there!’_

Out of panic and worry for his childhood friend, Masamune decided to forget all about the seals and jumped straight into the hole.

“Wait-- Date!” He heard Mitsunari call out to him, but he was already dashing away as fast as he could into the tunnel.

_‘Dangit, Ieyasu! Be safe!’_

\---

When he got to the end of the cave he found him, standing there facing away from him, staring into a wide, glowing pool of... something.

Masamune held onto the wall and panted, trying to catch his breath. Once he did, he straightened his posture and called out to his friend.

“Geez, Ieyasu! Thank God you’re alright! Gave me a scare back there. What the heck are you doing here?”

Ieyasu didn’t reply. Masamune began feeling unsettled when he saw the concentration of seals pasted on the walls around here in particular. And that pool which seemed to have hypnotized his friend was swirling with some kind of... dark purple, poisonous-looking liquid. _What_ even was that?

_‘He couldn’t have been possessed, could he?’_

“Hey, Ieyasu!” Masamune quickly but cautiously walked up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder.

Ieyasu jumped in surprise, snapping out of his trance. He turned to look.

“Wha-- Dokugan-- Uwa--!!”

“Ieyasu! Watch out!”

Masamune, seeing that his friend’s footing was slipping, quickly grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back forcefully, preventing him from falling into the pool. Ieyasu fell on top of him as they landed on the ground.

“......??”

His friend was wordless, half surprised and half scared. Masamune held him close and hugged him tightly.

“Idiot... That was close. Don’t do that again. ... _Okay_?” he scolded gently.

“Dokuganryuu...”

“Date!”

They heard footsteps coming. Mitsunari and Yukimura came into view.

“Oh, look who’s the one doing the ‘ _weird stuff_ ’ now,” Mitsunari commented, folding his arms. Payback for teasing him and Yukimura outside. Masamune and Ieyasu, realizing their position, immediately repelled, blushing like crazy.

“Look, Ishida! IT’S NOT WHAT YOU THINK--!!” Masamune tried to explain, frantically shaking his head and waving his arms in front of him. Ieyasu turned away and pulled his hood over his head, trying to cover his face in vain.

“Whatever. I don’t _care_ ,” Mitsunari waved them off. “First, let’s get out of here. The air here is heavy and it’s making me feel sick to my stomach. How did you even have the guts to get in here, Ieyasu?”

“’In here’...? This is inside the cave? I don’t know... I was just peering into the entrance and the next thing I know, I was standing here with Dokuganryu in my face...,” Ieyasu recalled.

“...Fine, explain outside. I don’t want us to be here for even a second longer,” Mitsunari suggested, quickly grabbing Yukimura by the wrist and turning to leave.

But before he could, the ground began to rumble.

“E-Earthquake?!” Yukimura asked.

“Let’s hurry out!” Mitsunari insisted. Masamune and Ieyasu nodded.

However, a sudden, eerie laughter echoed through the cave.

“......?!!”

The rumble turned into a huge quake and the ground below them gave way.

No one heard their screams.

+++++

【To be continued】

**Notes:**

*  **Itotake（糸竹）** is what Nobunaga calls Ieyasu in SB3 Utage and SB4.

It literally translates as ‘traditional Japanese musical instrument’, with「糸」(ito/strings) referring to string instruments like the koto and shamisen, while「竹」refers to bamboo instruments like the flute.

In the SB3 Utage script, explanations are given that in case of Nobunaga calling Ieyasu that,「糸」refers to「楽曲」(gakkyoku/musical piece), while「竹」is for「竹千代」(Takechiyo, Ieyasu’s childhood name).  
The ‘musical piece’ part is probably connected to Utage Hisahide’s script where he wants Ieyasu to ‘sing him a song’ (spill out his true feelings and show him how twisted he had become behind that bright exterior).


	2. Warm Welcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I don’t like this place,” Mitsunari frowned, taking a few steps away from some bones that littered the ground.  
> “Mi-Mitsunari-dono… This couldn’t be the underworld, could it…?” Yukimura asked, walking closer to him worriedly.  
> “Hey, hey. Don’t be so quick to decide,” Masamune interrupted. “Nobody knows what place this is, so let’s look around first before making any weird guesses, alright?"

【 **Chapter 2: Warm Welcome** 】

“Gah!” Masamune had landed hard on the ground faster than he could think of anything else.

“Ugh!”

And the other three had awesomely landed piled up on top of him. Darn it, Ieyasu’s weight–…! He quickly shoved his classmates aside before he died of suffocation. Mitsunari sat up, looking around.

“Where are we…?”

“Everyone alright?” Ieyasu asked.

“Are… Are we dead?” Yukimura continued.

Recalling, they had been in some sort of strange cave just a few moments ago. Following the laughter of some maniac, the floor had suddenly given way and they remembered falling into some unknown purplish… substance. The next moment, they had crash-landed here.

It was a bizarre place.

Wherever they looked, there was nothing but rocks, the land they were standing on seemingly suspended in mid-air. The dark foreboding skies looked similar to whatever substance they had fallen into, where a red half-moon with the shadow of a giant skull peered down at them watchfully.  A thick, suffocating atmosphere hung in the air.

“I don’t like this place,” Mitsunari frowned, taking a few steps away from some bones that littered the ground.

Looking up, he couldn’t see any hole from where they might possibly have fallen here from. The small piece of land they were standing on had only one stone path leading away further into the place. Looking down from the cliffs that surrounded them, he could see only the endless abyss below.

“Mi-Mitsunari-dono… This couldn’t be the underworld, could it…?” Yukimura asked, walking closer to him worriedly. Mitsunari looked at him, but couldn’t give him a sure answer.

“ _Hey, hey._ Don’t be so quick to decide,” Masamune interrupted. “Nobody knows what place this is, so let’s look around first before making any weird guesses, _alright_? …Right, Ieyasu?”

He turned to look at his friend, only to see that he had been spacing out again. Seized by a sudden fear, he quickly grabbed him by his shoulders.

“Ieyasu!”

“…!” At least that managed to snap him out of it.

“What is _wrong_ with you? You’re not possessed or anything, are you? Stop doing that!”

“…Ah, sorry, Dokuganryuu…,” Ieyasu replied sadly, “I just… I thought that I heard someone calling…”

“…?” Mitsunari and Yukimura waited for an explanation.

“Who? Where from?” Masamune questioned.

“……,” Ieyasu looked towards the stone path that led further away into the place.

“……,” Masamune bit his lip.

That didn’t sound like anything good, and if possible, he didn’t want to let Ieyasu, or any of them go anywhere near whatever that voice was. But if they wanted to find out about this place, then they had no other choice.

“…Alright, then. This way. The faster we find a way out of here the better,” he concluded, walking towards the stone path. The others followed him. Masamune decided to keep a close eye on Ieyasu.

—

Walking along the stone path, it led them to higher grounds. The sight that greeted the four of them there was unbelievable.

In the distance, a majestic castle stood tall and proud in all its grandeur, complete with an entire castle town surrounding it. A mysterious red aura surrounded the castle tower, as well as certain points in the castle town.

Met by the landscape, the four of them wasn’t sure of what to do next.

“Right… What now?” Mitsunari asked, “You think that if we go down there, there, there would be someone in town who can tell us something?”

Yukimura leaned a little forward, putting a hand over his eyes and squinting.

“The roads looked a little… empty. I can’t spot anyone or see any activity,” he said.

“……,” Masamune looked on cautiously. Unease was beginning to settle down amongst them again.

“Hmm, maybe we should go and look anyway,” Ieyasu suggested, “Even if there might not be anyone there, there might be some clues which can tell us what or where this place is. There isn’t much else we can do.”

Out of the lack of other options, the others nodded, and they went on their way.

—

As they had observed previously, the town was completely deserted when they entered it. So empty and dead quiet that they could hear the cold winds blowing through it.

From the items in the shops and houses, there were signs that there was once a bustling and busy life here. But now, almost all the buildings were broken, everything covered in an astonishingly thick layer of dust. Bones littered the ground and everything was in such a huge mess it was as if a huge disaster had suddenly struck the town and its unsuspecting citizens.

“Yukimura, don’t touch anything,” Mitsunari warned, pulling his friend back by the back of his collar when he was about to run a finger through the dust covering some broken crates.

“Looks like there’s really no one here… See anything that could tell us something?” Masamune asked, scanning their surroundings.

The others looked around, but they didn’t manage to find anything of particular worth.

“Actually, I’m a little curious about the glowing red areas we saw back then. Think there could be something over there?” Ieyasu asked.

“Beats me. Should we give it a look?” Masamune asked. His friend nodded.

“In that case, one of them should be right this way,” Ieyasu answered, looking above the buildings’ roofs at a red glow in the distance.

“Wait,” Mitsunari stopped them, looking back at a turn behind them. “We’ve got company.”

“…?!”

Drawn out groans made themselves heard to them. The clanking of metals, the sound of dragged footsteps. A number of people was coming.

“Those are–?!” Yukimura started when they came into view.

Judging by their clothes, armor and weapons, they were warriors. Samurai. They held their drawn out swords firmly in their hands as they shambled towards the newly arrived group.

“A-Ah, excuse me, but you must be the citizens from here! If we might ask you a few questions–,” Yukimura asked, walking towards them.

“Yukimura!” Mitsunari pulled him back again, “Wait, there is something off with them.”

Masamune and Ieyasu looked on cautiously, a little tense.

And much like they feared, a moment later, the group in front of them suddenly fell into a battle stance, readying their swords. A war cry from their leader and the next moment, they were charging straight at the four of them.

“FUCK! RUN!!” Masamune ordered.

The four of them immediately turned away and ran as fast as they could without having to be told twice.

“GWAAAHHHHH–!!!” Their pursuers were hot on their trail, crazed, bloodthirsty looks in their eyes. They were gaining speed and charging forward like angered bulls.

“What is WRONG with them?!” Mitsunari glared back.

“Where are we running to?!” Yukimura shouted.

“ANYWHERE!!” Masamune told him.

“Guys, over there!” Ieyasu said, pointing towards the ruins of a temple complex a little ahead of them. Its walls and gates were still mostly intact, so it should do well in holding back their attackers.

“That way!” Masamune commanded, leading the way.

“Close the gates!” he shouted once everyone got in.

Mitsunari and Yukimura quickly grabbed the handles of the left door and pushed the big, heavy thing with all they had got. Ieyasu helped Masamune with the right door.

“Faster!” Masamune yelled, seeing their pursuers approach very quickly.

They made it just in time before they reached them. Yukimura and Ieyasu held the door in place while Mitsunari and Masamune went to grab the gates’ iron bar from nearby, placing it horizontally on its holders to keep the gates shut. They backed away as the people outside continued pounding at the gates relentlessly.

“………”

Just when they thought they were safe, there was a sudden loud bang at the gates as it was hit harder.

“Uwaa!” Yukimura quickly rushed there by reflex to hold the gates together.

“ _Damn it_!” Masamune cursed.

“MASAMUNE-DONO! These doors won’t hold much longer! Do something–UWAH!!” Yukimura demanded, barely evading a sword that pierced through the wooden gates he was trying to hold shut.

“I’M THINKING, _ALRIGHT_?! We can’t seem to reason with them, and I don’t think we have the option to fight them barehanded!” his classmate replied in frustration, looking around for an escape route.

Mitsunari, equally pissed with the hopeless situation, turned to glare sharply at a fearful Ieyasu, “IEYASU! It’s all your fault that we’re stuck here! Think of something!!”

Ieyasu gritted his teeth, cold sweat running down his face. He was unsure of what to do, but he’d better figure out something fast or all of them would be dead meat. He looked around.

“…!!”

The temple well a little away caught his attention. He rushed there, quickly grabbing and opening its broken lid.

A dried, shallow well. Just wide enough.

“Everyone! Over here!”

“…!” The others looked there.

Another bang on the gates. The four classmates hurried and crammed themselves into the well. Masamune and Mitsunari pulled the lid back over their heads. They heard the gates being flung open and people charging in.

“………”

They stayed very quiet, holding their breath and listening to footsteps pass them by. The warriors moved around the temple grounds for awhile, searching for them. Once things had eventually quietened down, the four of them looked at each other. Masamune nodded.

He stretched out and slowly, quietly lifted the well’s lid a little, peering out.

Their attackers seemed to think that they had left through the complex’s hind gates, so all of them were headed that way. Seeing the last of them leave the place through the back, he signaled an OK to the others.

Removing the well’s lid and climbing out quietly, they made their way the out of the front gates, tracing their route back to leave the place.

—

“Shit, that was a close call!”

Masamune sighed in relief once they were a good distance away from the temple, and a good distance away from the castle town. They had rushed out of the dangerous area back to where they came from.

“That was certainly a warm welcome, alright,” he said sarcastically.

“…What now?” Ieyasu asked.

“Well… At least we know that we’re not dead yet,” Mitsunari said, studying some scrapes he got on his hands while handling the temple well’s broken lid. “Otherwise I wouldn’t be getting these and I wouldn’t have felt anything.”

Yukimura walked over to him worriedly, asking to take a look at his hand.

“Which means that the theory that this is the underworld had been disproved. That’s one good news for us,” Masamune smirked.

“……,” Ieyasu looked down at the castle town again. “Still, I think if we want to find a way out of here, we’d have to go back there.”

“Indeed,” Masamune affirmed, but then he relaxed and seated himself crosslegged on the ground.

“…?” The others looked at him.

“But we’re definitely not going back in there without a good plan. Sit down here and think up something with me.”

 


	3. Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The contents of people's bags.  
> Also, thank you so much for the Kudos ;u;

【 **Chapter 3: Plan** 】

The four of them did their best to calm down, settling down and sitting together in a circle. They had experienced how dangerous it was just to look for information, so a good strategy was necessary for their next try.

“Alright, since we can finally think straight again, let’s start with piecing together whatever we’ve learned,” Masamune said.

The other three nodded.

“Let’s see, we were supposed to be in some friendly historical school trip at Honnoji, but we somehow got sucked here through some portal at the back of the temple,” the One-Eyed Dragon stated, folding his arms.

“Since we can still physically feel things, we can be sure that we aren’t dead yet and this isn’t the underworld… Hopefully… But it didn’t change the fact that we need to find a way to get back. Even so, those zombie-like samurai people were in the way, so we need to find a way around it, and move in a more organized manner,” he completed his summary.

“We’ll need to get back preferably before our bus leaves,” Yukimura contributed, “Mitsunari-dono, what time is it? The bus leaves at 4 o’clock, so we should move quickly.”

Mitsunari, always the punctual and discipline student, most definitely kept a watch, so he gave it a look.

“…?!”

The sudden startled look on his face surprised his classmates.

“What is it, Mitsunari? Are we not going to make it?” Ieyasu asked.

“…12:12? I think my watch is broken,” he replied in annoyance, tapping at the device a little, “We entered here at around lunchtime, midday. And we had been moving around for at least an hour or two, so there is no way…”

The other three quickly took out their phones to check the actual time.

“Ah! My phone’s also saying 12:12!” Yukimura piped in.

“Same here,” Ieyasu added.

Masamune nodded after him, “And the phone’s lack of signal is just as expected.”

Mitsunari stared at his watch’s second hand, ticking away so, very, slowly.

“Time’s still moving here, though,” he said, showing it to the others, “It’s just not moving at the same speed as ours.”

“That’s one new discovery. The time here’s much slower,” Masamune concluded, folding his arms, “That means we can actually fool around and take our time finding our way out without missing the bus. Still, if we can help it, let’s be out of here quickly.”

Ieyasu nodded, “Indeed. But if we’re going to spend some time, then we’d better see what we have with us and organize them properly before we do anything.”

Masamune agreed, taking his backpack off his back and placing it in front of himself, starting to take out its contents. The others did the same.

“Alright, I’ll start,” he said, “Thought that this was gonna be a boring school trip, so I packed light. Phone, wallet, keys, water, stationery, notebook, some chips for snacks, two power banks to recharge phones, a music player, a PS Vita… Ah, and of course, bandaids, the sports club’s must have! And then this book…”

“Is that an adult’s magazine?” Ieyasu glared disapprovingly at the item.

Mitsunari snatched it out of his hands, “Consider it confiscated by the disciplinary committee.”

“ _Hey_! We’re not gonna be using that, so give that back. Besides, it’s Chosokabe’s. Need to return it,” Masamune protested.

“Chosokabeeee…,” Mitsunari muttered threateningly under his breath. He gave the book back, nevertheless, “Fine, keep it. But both of you would better get ready for a scolding when we get back.”

Masamune shrugged and shoved the book back into the bag.

“The remaining items would be my awesome lighter and set of cigarettes,” Masamune proudly announced, running his thumb over the black lighter with golden dragons printed on it, holding the cigarette pack in his other hand.

“Now _that_ is certainly confiscated. I’m keeping that!” Ieyasu said, snatching the cigarettes and pocketing it.

“But–!”

“Don’t make me worry about your health.”

“Aww, _alright_ ,” Masamune sighed, “Your bag’s contents next, then.”

Ieyasu emptied his bag, “Dropped my notebook and stationery on the way here, it seems. So phone, wallet, water, history textbook, a historical dictionary, a book about Nobunaga, and some bread. Forgot to eat it for breakfast because I was too busy revising.”

“Considering this place, those reference books should come in handy,” Mitsunari commented.

Ieyasu nodded, then dug into the other pockets of his bag, “…Then comb and hair spray, a card holder filled with name cards after that… And last would be this small hand towel.”

“That would be it, I suppose,” he ended.

“Me next, then!” Yukimura followed, “Phone, wallet, notebook, stationery, four packs of dango for snacks, three bottles of water, one bottle of tea, bandaids, antiseptics and cotton, medicine for bruises, Oyakata-sama’s motivational scroll…”

The other three were staring at him blankly as more and more things came pouring out of his bag.

“ _DUDE_! Your bag’s like a cornucopia or something!” Masamune said in disbelief.

“Isn’t that a little heavy?” Ieyasu asked with concern. Yukimura shook his head.

“When setting out on a trip, a man has to be ready for anything! So I had done my best to take everything that seems necessary!” He explained boldly, but trailed off in his next words.

“…Besides, one dango pack and the tea was supposed to be for Mitsunari-dono…,” he said softly, glancing towards his white-haired friend.

Their eyes met and they quickly looked away from each other.

“…Thanks,” Mitsunari managed. Ieyasu and Masamune simply smiled at them.

“Haha, I’d call that overpacked on a normal situation, but in this case, we’re saved! Good one, Sanada!” Ieyasu said. Yukimura looked back with a pleased grin.

“Less important, but I also have these tiger stickers from Sasuke and Oyakata-sama… In case we could use them for something,” he continued, taking some out.

“We’ll ask for it when we need it, then,” Ieyasu nodded.

“Last one,” Mitsunari said, taking out the things from his bag. Masamune and Ieyasu watched him curiously. What type of bag contents Mitsunari had had always been a mystery to them.

“Watch, wallet, phone, notebook, notepad, stationery, water, a digital camera, laptop, Wi-Fi router, handkerchief, tissues, notepad, small hand mirror, small comb, toothbrush, toothpaste… Then there’s the disciplinary committee armband, the class register, and a clear file of blank A4 papers. That’s about it.”

“That’s… a really businesslike content, alright,” Masamune said.

“Some of them look like they could be of use, though!” Ieyasu added.

“Right, I’ll sum up everything for us, then,” Masamune suggested.

“From what I’ve seen, you can leave recharging electronics to me, and there’s my lighter if you need some fire. Ieyasu can be our historical guide,” he looked at the other two.

“Sanada will be in charge of food supply and first aid. Ishida can help us document our discoveries and maybe make a map as we go, so we don’t get lost. Would that be alright?”

His classmates nodded. Masamune nodded back as confirmation.

“ _Okay_ , then our next goal would be to investigate those glowing areas in town,” he continued, looking down the hill.

“Those crazy samurai might show up again, so we’ll get something to defend ourselves along the way. Try not to get seen as much as you can, though.”

He looked back at the others, “Let’s try and find a way out of here before our food supply runs out.”


	4. Red Area

After eating some lunch, the four of them went back into the mysterious town, quietly and carefully moving along its broken houses.

Ieyasu and Masamune walked in front, with Ieyasu leading the way and Masamune ready with a rake he had picked up earlier, in case anyone decided to come and attack them. Mitsunari walked behind them, mapping their route and taking notes of anything important. Yukimura followed closely behind with two broomsticks, watching their backs.

“And that building would be…?” Mitsunari asked.

“A cloth store,” Ieyasu told him.

He nodded and marked it down on the map.

“Heh, can’t believe I’m saying this, but looks like all that studying is coming in handy,” Masamune grinned.

Ieyasu smiled back at him.

“Mitsunari-dono is making such a neat map, too!” Yukimura commented, peering over his classmate’s shoulder, impressed.

“We’ll need it to be this neat if we don’t want you to get lost,” Mitsunari replied, unconsciously bringing his hand up to playfully ruffle Yukimura’s hair.

He quickly pulled his hand down again when he realized that the other two were looking, earning a rather disappointed look from the young man behind him.

“Ahem, anyway! We should keep going.”

“Haha, so far so good. For people who normally don’t get along, we’re actually doing pretty well together, aren’t we?” Masamune remarked, remembering how he usually competed with Yukimura on pretty much everything, and how he and Mitsunari could never stand each other.

“Don’t get it wrong, Date. I’m already feeling sick that I have to hang around misbehaving students like you. The contents of your bags are all against the school rules!” Mitsunari complained, glaring sharply.

“We are only sticking together as a matter of survival. After we get out of here, you’re on your own and I’m not letting Yukimura anywhere near you. It’s bad influence.”

“Mitsunari-dono…!” Yukimura tried to calm him down.

“Ha! Suit yourselves. In fact, now that you mention it, I’d rather not be with a stick in the mud who doesn’t know how to have fun like you are,” Masamune shrugged.

“Hey, guys! Don’t be like that!” Ieyasu interrupted, preventing the bicker from escalating into a fight.

“Look, we wouldn’t even have walked this far safely, if it weren’t for everyone working together. I think all of you are good at something and are equally important, so let’s get along. …Alright?”

“If you can work well together over here, I’m sure you can get along as well when we get back,” he smiled, and then looked towards Masamune for a reply.

Normally, the one-eyed dragon would have continued the fight due to his pride, but Ieyasu’s comforting smile wasn’t something that he wanted to wipe off his face.

“…Tch, fine. Just because you’re the one saying it, Ieyasu,” Masamune rolled his eye, reluctantly turning back and walking again to continue their journey.

Mitsunari sighed and decided to let it go, not wanting to be the immature one. He followed after his classmate with Yukimura, who whispered a quiet ‘thank you’ to Ieyasu as he walked by. The latter smiled at him helplessly, then running ahead to catch up with Masamune.

—

It was only some time later that they finally managed to reach their destination.

The area glowing with the strange red light was just up ahead, past this abandoned shop building in front of them. By then, everyone had had pretty much enough of playing hide-and-seek with seemingly brainwashed, aggressive samurai, wanting to just get this over with and go home.

“Would this be something that would lead us out of here? Cross your fingers and hope for the best,” Masamune said, as all of them stuck to the wall and got ready to peek.

However, what actually came into view sent them into dismay.

Instead of a portal back home, what they saw was an open space with a guard post in the center, crawling with the zombie-like warriors. An eerie red glow lit the scene from the floor.

“Shit, man. I guessed that it might be something bad, but not this bad! This is like their nest or something,” Masamune twitched.

“Is-… Is that their leader in the middle?” Yukimura asked, pointing at the warrior standing at the guard post, who wore a set of armor that was visibly more grand than the others.

“It looks like it. But what now?” Mitsunari asked, then explaining his observations, “If it is like this here, I’m guessing that the other red areas are similar, considering their symmetric locations throughout this castle town…”

“……”

Ieyasu and Masamune thought hard, unsure of what to suggest or what to do next. If only they could have just one clue…

“Guys, look!”

Yukimura, who had been constantly studying the landscape, pointed out. Everyone’s heads immediately turned that direction.

A little behind the guard post, there stood several army banners. Everyone squinted to get a good look at the clan crests marked on them.

Mitsunari frowned, “That crest is…”

“Oda…?” Ieyasu completed his sentence, surprised at the discovery of the all too familiar flower, the Oda Mokkou emblem.

However, just as they were starting to form their own theories, the commander of the warriors had unfortunately spotted them from his post. 

“GRAAHHH!!”

He pointed his spear at the four students and a moment later, the entire field was charging at them.

“Not again, but I say we RUN!” Masamune shouted.

Everyone immediately picked up everything they had and ran. They may be more prepared right now, but the numbers were no match for them, and they’d rather not die here.

“Ishida! Which way?!” Masamune urged in panic, looking back at the people chasing them.

They had chosen to backtrack rather than run some other way and risk getting lost. Mitsunari adjusted the map in his hands and hurriedly searched for a good escape route.

“There are some narrow alleys to our left! We should be able to lose them in there!”

The others nodded, turning left. Their pursuers followed them.

Masamune and Mitsunari cleared the way ahead of them while Ieyasu and Yukimura toppled barrels, crates, chairs and everything else they could get their hands on behind them, slowing down the men. Ieyasu spotted a small, somewhat broken shelter made of thin wooden pillars and a hay roof a little ahead.

“Sanada! That one there! Help me with it!”

“Ah! Got it!” Yukimura replied.

When they reached it, they grabbed hold of one of the shelter’s pillars and pulled it forward together, toppling the whole structure over and effectively blocking the road.

“Nice one!” Masamune complimented as they chased up.

“Keep running! We should lose them soon!” Mitsunari informed.

But just when they thought they were safe, a loud noise was heard from behind. Startled, their gaze went back.

There was a blast as the large obstacle was knocked out of the way, revealing a large warrior with an equally large spear, two enormous golden fans adorning the base of its blade. The path cleared, the rest of the warriors began their chase again.

“WHA–?! What the hell is that?!” Masamune cursed.

“That fanned spear…! If my memory serves me right, they’re soldiers specializing in taking down enemy bases,” Ieyasu recalled the contents of his research notes, “They’re said to be very powerful!”

“But that’s some inhuman strength!” Masamune protested, “Either way, run faster! What’s the plan now, Ishida?!”

But however much the former depended on him, Mitsunari could only return a look of despair, betraying all his hopes.

“We’re already too close to the outskirts. There’s nothing around here that we can use to hide…”

“WHAT?!” The other three replied almost altogether.

When they looked back, their seemingly tireless pursuers continued to decrease the gap between them as they slowly ran out of breath.

The four of them desperately looked around to see if there was anything of use, their eyes begging for help but finding none. The only thing that kept their feet running was the sheer will for survival, the emotionless warriors just right behind them. It was only a matter of time.

“Ah!!” Yukimura tripped on a hole in the ground.

“SANADA!!”

The other three stopped in their tracks and went back to help him, kneeling down to pull him up.

“GAARRGHH…!!” Their pursuers’ shadows fell over them as they closed in, their swords drawn.

“…!!”

Everyone held strongly onto each other, squeezing their eyes shut and shielding themselves with their free arm, believing that it was the end.

However, they felt nothing.

“…?”

The four of them slowly opened their eyes, wanting to know what was going on.

The warriors that had been chasing them stood just a few steps away from them, still holding onto their weapons and watching them earnestly, but unmoving.

“…Huh?”

Confusion surfaced on everyone’s faces as they slowly stood up. Masamune curiously walked right and left, watching as the warriors’ eyes followed him. Even so, they seemed to have no intention of taking any actions.

“What’s wrong with them? Did they suddenly lose interest or something?” He asked, putting a hand on his hip and scratching his head.

He cautiously reached out to them to test his theory, but when one of them attempted to strike at his incoming hand, he quickly pulled back a few steps.

“…Nevermind.”

“Still, though. I’d like to know why,” Ieyasu said, standing up next to him.

After making sure that Yukimura was alright, Mitsunari looked around, then looked at his map.

“We’re… out of town,” he notified. Surprised, Ieyasu and Masamune looked around as well, checking the fact for themselves.

“You’re right,” Ieyasu said.

“So you mean that there’s this invisible line separating the inside and outside of town? These zombies don’t look like they would go out. Which means that as long as we are outside, we can pretty much guarantee that we’ll be safe,” Masamune concluded.

“It would seem that way,” Mitsunari agreed, helping Yukimura up, “What’s the plan now?”

Masamune studied the two of them, and then looked at Ieyasu, before making a decision.

“I’m sure everyone’s exhausted and is pretty beat for today. I say we take a break and recover before doing any more crazies.”

“…Yeah,” the others nodded at him.

They walked away, glancing back and seeing the warriors retreat into the misty town as they left it behind them.


	5. Bad Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yooo! Everyone leaving the Kudos, thank you!  
> With how small this fandom had turned, I never even thought I'd be able to get that much, so you had been awesome motivation! ;;_____;;  
> I'll continue to write and hope I can live up to your expectations ^^

【 **Chapter 5: Bad Dream** 】

“Are you alright?” Mitsunari asked, pasting a bandaid over the graze on Yukimura’s knee, something the earlier fall had caused.

“Yeah…,” Yukimura answered, shifting his sitting position a little to make it easier for the other.

“Promise to tell me if anything hurts,” Mitsunari said again, finishing. Yukimura smiled at him and nodded joyfully.

“Yes.”

Ieyasu and Masamune watched the two from afar. The four of them had decided to settle down near some rocks for now.

“Hmm~ There’s certainly something going on between those two,” Ieyasu smiled.

“Definitely,” Masamune grinned.

“So did you ever find out what it is from them?” Ieyasu asked, turning to Masamune, remembering that he went to ask before they entered this place.

“Nah, they won’t admit it. But _hey_ , I think it’s obvious,” Masamune shrugged. They both laughed a little.

“Let’s go back home so we can all be happy and carry on with it, then!” Ieyasu suggested. Masamune nodded.

“But seriously, though, Ieyasu,” Masamune said, walking over to put a hand on the other’s shoulder, grinning, “ _You_ tell me too if anything hurts, alright? I feel like you have this bad habit of keeping things to yourself too much.”

“……,” Ieyasu looked at him before nodding with a thankful smile, “Okay.”

“Heh, take care of yourself,” Masamune said, satisfied, patting the other’s shoulder before going off and looking up at the skies.

“Damn the fact that there’s no sun here. Can’t even tell what time it is,” he muttered, “But anyways, I figure that for us, it should be sleeping time right now. Tired as hell too from all the things that happened, so let’s sleep.”

Ieyasu watched him walk off to invite the other two for a rest. Then his smile faded as he turned to look at and study the imposing silhouette of the castle in the distance, shrouded by the thick red fog.

_‘That castle is…’_

“Hey, Ieyasu! You sleeping or not? The floor’s hard, but bear with it,” Masamune called out.

“Coming!” Ieyasu shouted back. He threw the castle a last glance before heading off to join the others.

—

_He woke up with scorching fires all around him._

_“HUH?! What?!” Ieyasu shot up in panic, looking right and left._

_His friends were not around him. He seemed to be inside a burning building. He was alone. The flames continued to eat up everything they could reach, quickly blackening _grand wooden pillars and sliding doors into ashes_._

_“Ah!” Ieyasu cringed and brought an arm over his head as a burning pillar crashed down beside him.  
_

_Where are the others?_

_Fear gripped his heart. He stood up and ran through the building hurriedly. Looking for his friends. Looking for an exit. The smoldering heat was unbearable._

_But his friends were not there. There was no exit. Just an endless maze of rooms and corridors, all slowly but surely burning away. He was trapped. _He didn’t even know which direction he was running to._ The fires lashed out at him._

_He was alone and no one would come here to save him._

_Sanada! Mitsunari! Masamune…!!_

_Just when he was about to give up hope, he saw the silhouette of a man as he ran past a series of rooms. Relief washed over him as he tried to skid to a halt. He tripped _from the sudden movement_ and tumbled a little down the corridor._

_“Dokuganryu…?”  
_

_He didn’t get a clear look, but he couldn’t shake off the feeling that it was someone very important to him. So it must be him. For reasons unknown, his heart began to pound in his chest. And he felt a sense of nervousness like never before._

_‘…What is this feeling?’  
_

_No time to worry about that. He pulled himself up and hurriedly ran back towards the room._

_“Dokuganryu! Let’s get out of–…?!!”  
_

_No. It wasn’t the One-Eyed Dragon. A tall man stood there in the flames with his back facing him. It wasn’t the back of someone he knew._

_“…?”  
_

_“ITOTAKE!!”  
_

_“…!!”  
_

_The man suddenly shouting in a commanding and threatening tone caused Ieyasu to jump in surprise. The air around him suddenly felt heavy. Ieyasu took a step back. Movement and breathing was suddenly difficult._

_The fires around the room danced and surrounded the figure across him, before suddenly engulfing the man and setting him aflame. Ieyasu gasped in shock at the sight, bringing a hand over his mouth._

_Even so, the man seemed unperturbed, turning back to look at him. Catching his gaze, Ieyasu felt as though something just cruelly stabbed right through his chest. He couldn’t see his face through the fires. The man walked towards him._

_“……”_

_Instinctively, Ieyasu wanted to run. His entire body shivered, but his legs couldn’t bring themselves to move, pinned down by an all-consuming sense of fear. The man was standing in front of him now, and Ieyasu could feel himself melting in the heat of the flames that covered him.  
_

_The man grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall behind him._

_“Agh!”  
_

_He hung higher than the tall man, choking, his legs desperately trying to reach something to stand on to support his own weight. There was anger in the man’s voice as he began speaking._

_“Itotake…!! For a long time I have awaited you. When the House burns, why were you absent?!”  
_

__He asked the question, although he didn’t seem to be expecting an answer as his grip just tightened. Ieyasu choked even more, struggling desperately against the iron grasp. Then he swore that he could feel the man smile a sick smile. The ghost of a red and black demon hovered out above him._  
_

__“Hmph, but now that you have come, I shall have the enjoyment of tearing you into pieces bit by bit! You shall beg that you had never existed, but mercy I shall not show!”  
_ _

__The man laughed. Ieyasu clawed at the hand around his neck, unable to understand what the man was talking about. He could feel himself starting to go numb out of lack of breath._ _

__“S-Stop–…!” He choked out._ _

__The fires around them suddenly flared up, engulfing both of them. He screamed as he felt the heat of the flames burn him._ _

_Everything was red and yellow and black, but the only thing he heard was the man’s manic laughter._

__—_ _

“IEYASU, WAKE UP!”

He felt a tight slap to one side of his face, followed by the other side of his head slamming hard against the ground under him.

“Owww…,” he groaned, frowning deeply at the stinging pain. He brought both his hands up to rub his cheeks as he tried to open his eyes.

“Masa… mune…?”

Masamune was on all fours over him with a worried look. Mitsunari and Yukimura stood behind the One-Eyed Dragon, equally concerned.

It seemed that he was back to the place they were at. And luckily, the others were with him this time. Feeling rather disoriented, he reached out to touch Masamune’s cheek, as if to make sure that he was real. The other looked down at him with a little surprise.

“Wh… What happened…?” Ieyasu asked weakly. He could hear his voice cracking a little, his hand slightly shivering. Masamune held tightly onto the younger’s hand, squeezing a little.

“It’s alright now, Ieyasu. Just a bad dream,” he told him, reaching out with his other hand to wipe the tears that had been streaming out of the other’s eyes.

“You don’t have to scream anymore, okay? We’re here with you and we won’t let anything get to you,” Masamune promised.

Ieyasu closed his eyes and nodded slowly, allowing the other to comfort him. Masamune pulled him up into a hug, swaying him a little.

“Let’s get out of here,” he said quietly, feeling Ieyasu nod against his shoulder and wrap his arms around him.

“Thank you…,” he sobbed.

Mitsunari and Yukimura sighed in relief. The former asked the latter to go back to sleep, so they both went and laid back down. Ieyasu watched them for awhile, calming down. He called out to Masamune then.

“Dokuganryu.”

“Hm?”

“That castle in the distance… It’s Oda Nobunaga’s Azuchi Castle. Anyone would be able to tell from its unique shape…,” Ieyasu said.

“Huh?”

They both pulled away from each other, looking towards the castle.

“If we’re looking for answers about this place, I think we should be able to find it in there.”


	6. Castle

Once everyone had gotten enough rest, they had continued with their explorations.

Following their previous observation, they had made the wise choice of circling the castle town and traveling along its borders, rather than going straight in. Mitsunari had mapped the shortest, easiest possible route to get to the castle without bumping into too many of the strange warriors. The others only needed to follow him.

With Mitsunari’s pointers, the travel hadn’t been as difficult as before. The Azuchi Castle was now just a little away. As of now, they had stopped behind a broken shed so Mitsunari could chart their next route.

“Alright. This is the farthest we had ever traveled. Past this shed, everything is uncharted,” Mitsunari explained, putting his now useless map aside and opening a new page on his notebook. “I’ll go back to mapping this area as we travel.”

Ieyasu nodded to him, “We can’t thank you enough, Mitsunari. Good job and thanks for getting us this far. We’ll be counting on you after this, too!”

“Hmph,” Mitsunari looked away, “Just doing what I’m supposed to to get us out of here.”

Yukimura smiled at him before turning to the others, “Let’s keep going, then! We managed to get this far, so let’s not fail it!”

—–

A little more sneaking around, chase, and hide-and-seek later, they managed to make it to the last wall of the main castle complex relatively unharmed, save for a few grazes here and there.

The four of them stopped behind a nearby building, studying the grand structure of the castle tower. It looked even more imposing and foreboding with all its red mists from up close.

“Oda Nobunaga’s famous Azuchi Castle…,” Ieyasu said in awe.

It was the first time he had seen it in person. On normal occasions, he would probably already be jumping in hysterical excitement. But now was certainly not the time.

Unlike the proud, majestic castle that he had seen in his books, the red aura surrounding this one gave it a demonic look and feel. He felt a pressure similar to the one in his dreams, before he thought he heard the whisper of a familiar voice.

“Hey, Ieyasu. You okay?” Masamune’s voice interrupted him, “Your breathing’s turning weird and you’re  sweating.”

“…? …Y-Yeah. Think I’m okay,” he answered hastily.

“……,” Masamune eyed him suspiciously, before looking back ahead, “We should get going.”

“But Masamune-dono, how do we pass this wall? There’s a whole moat around it, too,” Yukimura asked. “The main gates are wide open, but there are guards. And we don’t know how many more of them are in there,” he pointed out, squinting with a hand over his eyes as he tried to look past the main gate into the castle grounds.

“He’s right,” Mitsunari agreed, straightening himself, “I suggest we go to a higher place, get a visual of the inside of those walls, then decide an entry method. There’s a cliff right there, so I’ll go take a look.”

And with that, Mitsunari started running, and practically zoomed away in a flash, leaving the others staring dumbfounded at the dust he left behind.

“…I knew that he can run fast, but not _that_ fast…!” Masamune commented.

“That’s Mitsunari for you. Just say that he’s nice for not running ahead and leaving us behind when we’re being chased together. Haha,” Ieyasu replied. Yukimura returned a knowing grin. Masamune shrugged.

“Well… Guess he still has a heart, after all.”

—–

Mitsunari returned almost as quickly as he left, and had immediately told them of his discoveries.

“There’s strangely nobody in there,” he informed.

“What? You serious?” Masamune asked.

“Yes, I don’t see a moving, living thing past these walls. But the areas around the outside of the walls and gates were quite heavily guarded, so I suggest we continue being very sneaky and quiet if we want to enter. …Still, it would be nice if we can have some sort of distraction to help us.”

“But… If no one’s guarding inside, is there really anything there? Was I mistaken…?” Ieyasu asked, unsure.

“Well, not that we have any other lead. And we had come all the way here, so let’s give it a shot. Think of a way to get in,” Mitsunari said.

The others nodded and thought for awhile.

“Hey, you think they’ll give a fuck if a building went up in flames?” Masamune spoke up.

—–

After making sure that there was no one around, Mitsunari had run to a nearby abandoned building, with the lighter that Masamune had borrowed him in hand. Once he entered the building, he lit the lighter.

“Tch… Can’t believe the head of the disciplinary committee would be doing some sort of arson,” he muttered at the irony of the situation.

He had been the one sent there since he could run back the fastest in case anything happened. Either way, since it wasn’t a choice, he pushed the thought back so he could concentrate on the task at hand, bringing the lighter to the building’s wall.

Since it was wooden, it caught fire pretty easily. Mitsunari quickly exited from the back door, making his way back to his group.

Once the flames turned bigger, the guards had hurried there, although it seemed to be more for their interest in intruders rather than their concern for the fire. Still, it was a good chance, so they made their way in through the now deserted front gates.

—–

As Mitsunari had said earlier, there was no one in sight once they were inside. Still, the innermost circle of the castle complex was huge.

Remnants of once beautiful gardens, various buildings, and broken notice boards littered the place. The cracked, dry grounds beneath their feet glowed red, contributing to the eerie lighting of the area along with the mist. The red moon in the sky looked even bigger from here, the large skull on it ever watching them through its dark sockets, giving them a sense of unease.

“…Main castle tower, turrets, remains of the garden, residential areas, storage buildings, castle well,” Ieyasu said hurriedly, breaking the uncomfortable silence by pointing the structures out to his friends, “Where do we start?”

“Well, tour guide, what’s your recommendation?” Masamune asked. Ieyasu thought for a bit.

“Probably… Main castle tower, or the residential areas where Nobunaga lived.”

“…Try the residential areas,” Mitsunari narrowed it down for him. “The castle tower is mainly used for battles, so I suppose if there are documents or something that could help us, it would be kept in the living space.”

Masamune nodded, “Ieyasu, you know which one Nobunaga lived in, yes? If this was his castle, I suspect it had something to do with him, so let’s dig around the old man’s room.”

“Alright, then,” Ieyasu nodded. “This way.”

—–

Walking quietly along the wide castle grounds, they soon arrived at what Ieyasu had identified as Nobunaga’s mansion. It certainly wasn’t that hard to pinpoint, considering it was the biggest and grandest compared to the other buildings in the area. The Oda crest that was inlaid with gold decorated the roofs.

“We’re here,” Ieyasu said, “Sadly, I’m not sure which of the rooms inside does what, so we might have to look around a little to find Nobunaga’s room.”

“Hmm…,” Masamune thought, “Well, we’ve walked a bit, and it looked like there’s really no one here, so probably splitting up would make the job faster.”

“Still, let’s go in groups of two. Nobody knows what might happen and I’m a little worried,” Mitsunari suggested upon seeing Yukimura being slightly anxious.

“Agreed,” Ieyasu affirmed, and they went on their way.

—–

The lighting inside the mansion was minimal. Just the red glow from outside illuminating broken hallways and torn paper doors, making it look like they were in some sort of a horror movie.

Masamune had used his lighter to light the first candles they found, passing a stick to Mitsunari and pocketing some extras into everyone’s bags before they split up. Yukimura and Mitsunari would run a check on one side of the mansion, while he himself would go with Ieyasu to check out the other side.

The old wooden floor beneath them creaked slightly under their weight as they walked further into the building. Masamune looked past his own shoulder at Ieyasu, who was following closely behind him, glancing around nervously every now and then. A smirk crept up to his lips.

“Psst, Ieyasu!”

“…?”

Masamune stuck out a hand at him, his grin turning more mischievous, “If you’re scared, you can hold my hand like the old times.”

“Wha– no!” Ieyasu flushed, suddenly turning self-conscious. He straightened his back and looked away with a pout, “It’s not like I’m the scared little kid like I used to be anymore! We’re grown ups now.”

“Hmm~? Alright, your wish,” Masamune said, pulling his hand back. He walked quietly for awhile before he suddenly turned to face the other with both his arms outstretched over his head.

“ _BOO_!”

“HyaaAAAHHH–!!”

Feeling as though his heart had just jumped right out of his chest from the sudden surprise, Ieyasu tripped on his own foot and fell backwards onto his rear. Masamune began laughing uncontrollably as he clutched his sides.

“ _DUDE_! You should have seen your face! You were scared shitless! Hahaha!”

Ieyasu glared up at him from where he was sitting, his cheeks turning even redder in embarrassment, “Dokuganryuu–! Not funny…!”

Masamune held out his hand to him again, a proper smile and a gentle tone this time.

“I’m telling you.  _Come on_.”

“……,” Ieyasu looked at him, before smiling back up and taking his hand.

—–

They continued holding hands as they explored the corridors and searched rooms.

Although they had not found anything of particular use so far, Ieyasu found the passing moments to be quite precious. It had been a long while since the last time he ever had the chance to spend time this close to Masamune, what with their busy schedules and their own mountain of agendas to attend to. He wondered when they had started drifting apart.

Seeing Masamune from this angle and holding onto his hand had certainly brought back memories from when they were younger. Whenever he was scared or lost as a child, Masamune would always be there to find him. Hold his hand like this and lead him back to a safe place while saying that everything would be fine. And just as he said, it would be.

He smiled warmly at the fond memories.

Masamune was his safe place. And with all the support and care that he had been giving him so far, he could tell that that fact hadn’t changed.

“ _Heeey_ , you okay, man? One moment you’re a scared little shit and now you’re grinning like an idiot,” Masamune chuckled, stopping and turning around, bringing his candle slightly upwards to see Ieyasu’s face more clearly.

“Dokuganryu– Haha, stop that,” Ieyasu said, “Just that I found holding your hand again to be very comforting. I’m not scared anymore now, so… thank you,” he said, closing his eyes and wrapping his other hand over the one he held, his face peaceful.

“I treasure my bond with you. If it’s not too much to ask, I want us to spend more time together when we get back…”

“H-Huh?” Masamune stuttered at the sudden request, feeling his face heat up suddenly without him knowing why. Ieyasu’s serene smile and innocent face was like that of an angel in the gentle glow of the candlelight. He sighed, relaxing himself before smiling again.

“Why, of course. I don’t see why not…,” he said.

Ieyasu opened his eyes again then, but avoided eye contact.

“Dokuganryu, thank you. …Actually, I…”

“…..?” Masamune waited for him to continue.

A moment later, Ieyasu had moved closer to him. Close enough for him to smell the layer of dust that had settled on him. Close enough for him to feel the younger’s warmth against his skin, listen to the quick pounding of his heart, and feel their breath mingle together. Close enough for him to get a clear look into that pair of bright, needy golden eyes staring right at his.

The next moment, he felt the most tender pair of lips pressed gently against his.


	7. Powerless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Readers, thank you for sticking around so far~ :'D

After the prior occurrence, the next moments had been very awkward to both of them.

They had continued walking and searching silently, still holding each other’s hands but unable to look the other in the eye. The light flush seemed to have permanently painted itself on both their cheeks. Masamune’s hand tightened around Ieyasu’s nervously.

“Do-Dokuganryu...,” Ieyasu finally pulled himself together and tried to speak up, “I’m... I’m sorry for that. I didn’t mean to--... I mean, I didn’t even wait for you to reply and just selfishly--...”

Masamune turned around then, suddenly pinning him to the wall and smashing their lips together again. He waited until Ieyasu recovered from the surprise and lean back in to the kiss. They parted as they ran out of breath.

“Just consider the feelings returned,” Masamune grinned, running a hand down the other’s cheek.

“.........,” Ieyasu stared at him half in disbelief for awhile, before smiling and putting his hand over Masamune’s, nodding quietly.

“Good. Now come,” the One-Eyed Dragon invited.

So they continued walking, more relaxed and comfortable than before.

“Hey, Dokuganryu, you think Mitsunari and Sanada had...”

“Kissed, too? ...Nah, they’re both probably too shy for it. But who knows? Haha,” Masamune joked lightheartedly. Ieyasu grinned.

“Haha, it’ll be nice to actually find out some time.”

\-----

The two of them found study rooms, living rooms, and the kitchen. They had found scrolls and letters, but not much else that could be a clue about getting back. Masamune unrolled yet another scroll, flipping it around as he tried to read it.

“Geez, old calligraphy. How did the people of those times even manage to read this?” He asked, looking at the brush lines that seemed to run into each other endlessly, unreadable to him.

“That’s the characteristic feature of old calligraphy, alright,” Ieyasu said, peering over his shoulder to look at it, too. He squinted a little at the bottom left corner of the sheet, before pointing it out to Masamune.

“That one’s Nobunaga’s signature for certain. Nothing that’s useful information for us, though.”

“Hmm...,” Masamune set the scroll down, “I’ll go check that corner and see if I can find anything else.”

Ieyasu nodded at him, watching him go. He was just about to check another corner himself when he thought that he heard a sudden, soft creak from the wooden floors outside the room.

“...? Mitsunari...?” Ieyasu called out.

“What are you talking about, Ieyasu? If they’re continuing their investigations, they would be traveling the opposite direction,” Masamune said, continuing to dig into the drawer that he had found.

It seemed that his friend hadn’t heard anything, but the sound got Ieyasu curious. He certainly didn’t want it to be one of the guards coming in from outside and sneaking up on them, so he walked out and looked around.

He heard the creak again from down the turn of the red corridor. Cautiously, he proceeded that way.

\-----

Masamune continued to dig through old books, finally pulling out some big, folded pieces of paper. He unfolded them and tried to study them. His eyes lit up when he saw the neat sketches drawn on them.

“Hey, Ieyasu!” He called out victoriously, “I think I might have found this castle’s floor plans!”

But when he turned around, he heard Ieyasu’s scream from outside the room.

“What...?! Ieyasu!”

Shoving the papers into his bag, Masamune was on his feet at once, hurriedly rushing out of the room. Ieyasu’s voice seemed to have come from the turn at the end of the corridor, so he made his way there.

“Ieyasu!” he called out as he made the turn.

“Dokuganryu!”

Masamune grabbed at the wall beside him and skidded to a stop, just in time to prevent himself from crashing right into the other. To his surprise, Ieyasu stood there unharmed.

“Dang, what are you screaming for? You trying to freak me out?”

“But Dokuganryu, there’s someone there. We don’t seem to be alone here,” Ieyasu said, the surprise still fresh on his face as he looked down the dim corridor in front of them. Masamune followed his line of sight.

There stood a young woman there, clad in a beautiful black and red kimono with golden butterflies fluttering gracefully in its sleeves and hem. The bangs of her silky black hair that had been tied into a bun with purple flowers in it framed her delicate yet alluring face.

Unlike the seemingly mindless warriors that they had seen so far, this woman had an air of dignity around her, and seemed to have retained her conscience. She smiled gently at the two of them as she walked closer, stirring their curiosity.

Was she a living human who had been trapped here like they were? Was she a ghost haunting this great mansion? The two of them preferred not to let their guard down and remain cautious.

“Erm... Excuse me, are... Are you from here?” Ieyasu tried to ask.

The woman stopped just a little in front of them, bowing lightly as a greeting.

“To answer your question, yes,” the woman began in a quiet and calming, formal tone, “It is I, Nouhime. It had been a long while, Takechiyo-dono. My husband, Oda Nobunaga, wishes to meet you. I had come here as your escort.”

“Nouhime...? O-Oda Nobunaga?!” Ieyasu repeated her lines, confused and unsure.

Just  _what_  was happening? With how empty this place was, he was certainly not expecting those two of all people to be here. But darn,  _are they real_? If they were, even as spirits, then he was in the presence of the great Lord of Owari and his wife, a princess, both of high rank and nobility while he was just a commoner. He suddenly felt self-conscious about how to behave around them.

Masamune raised an eyebrow at him from beside him, equally lost. Ieyasu looked back at his friend as if he could provide an answer. Although he wasn’t sure what was actually happening or what to say next, he tried to continue nevertheless. He bowed deeply and politely to show his respect.

“Pardon me, Nouhime-sama, but I don’t think I’m the Takechiyo you’re looking for. However, if we're allowed to ask a few questions--...”

“No, you certainly are. Do you not remember?” Nouhime interrupted him before he could say anything more, her tone bold and doubtless, although a little surprised. She looked away perplexed, contemplating to herself for a moment, before looking back at him.

“Well enough. There would be plenty of room for conversations at Kazusanosuke-sama’s place, and I’m sure your memories should come back to you eventually... Please come with me,” she bowed to him and invited once again.

“......,” Ieyasu looked at her with a little uncertainty, wondering whether he should accept the invitation.

On a normal occasion, this would have been like a dream come true, being able to meet the historical figures he had studied so closely and looked up to. But there was so much mystery surrounding the current situation that he wasn’t even sure anymore.

Was it even real? Was the woman in front of him who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere telling the truth? If anything, he was starting to get a bad feeling.

“Just accept it and let’s go,” Masamune suggested frankly.

“Y-You sure?” Ieyasu asked.

“She looks civil and kind enough. This could be the lead we are after,” Masamune replied in a quiet voice. Ieyasu nodded to him, before looking back at the woman.

“Alright, we’ll come with you. But... if you’d allow us to look for our two friends first, we’ll be very glad. They should be wandering the other side of this mansion right now,” he told her, upon which she smiled at him.

“Oh, that wouldn’t be necessary...”

“...Eh?”

“Takechiyo-dono, it is only you whom Kazusanosuke-sama had requested. As for your companions...,” the woman said as she reached down to her thigh. Ieyasu and Masamune gasped in surprise when she suddenly pulled out a gun that had been hidden in the folds of her kimono, pointing it at the latter. The gentle look in her eyes suddenly broke away into that of craze.

“He said that we’re free to toy with them as much as we like!”

“Wait, don’t shoot--,” Ieyasu quickly tackled his friend to the ground as she fired. They both cringed at the sound of gunshot and gasped when they saw the hole in the wall above them. The woman was serious!

“Heh,” she smirked. Showing no intention to stop, she aimed and shot at Masamune again, who luckily made it in time to roll away and dodge, a few more shots following his trail.

“STOP!!” Ieyasu shouted. He ran and pounced at her, knocking her down to disable her. The gun slipped out of her grip as he tried to pin her down to the ground.

“Dokuganryu! RUN!!” he shouted, turning to look at his friend.

“And leave you behind?  _No way_!!”

“Hmph,” taking advantage of Ieyasu’s distraction, Nouhime quickly twisted to give him a hard kick to his side and knock him off of her.

“...!!” Ieyasu winced as he felt his back crash hard against the corridor’s wall.

“Ieyasu!” Masamune shouted. Not wanting to let the woman get back to her weapon, he made a run at her.

However, when he was about to reach her, instead of reaching out for her fallen gun, she suddenly uncovered a second gun. Masamune’s eyes widened in surprise as she aimed it at him, a smile as cold as ice stretching across her features.

A loud gunshot.

“GAAAAAAAHHHH--!!!” Masamune was thrown back, blood streaming out of a hole in his right shoulder. He gripped at it in pain.

“Dokuganryu--!!” Ieyasu got up from the floor and made for him, but Nouhime cocked her gun at his friend.

“Hmph, what a shrimp. Not even good enough as warmup. Had everyone out there turned this boneless, I wonder?” She commented offhandedly, readying her finger at the trigger to finish the job.

“STOP!! Don’t shoot him! I’ll come quietly!! Just, let him live! PLEASE!!” Ieyasu shouted in a string of desperation, kneeling down and bowing a few times. Gods, Masamune was lying there bleeding and hurt. Tears flowing out of his eyes like anything as he begged, he couldn’t think of anything else.

“Hmm~,” Nouhime was amused, pulling back her gun and looking at him, “Takechiyo-dono, you really haven’t changed. Still cute, aren’t you? Ahahaha.”

She looked down at Masamune again, who was gritting his teeth and glaring up at her by now. She brought a foot to press down hard at the side of his face.

“Well, I suppose it wouldn’t be fun if they just die this easily. Okay, then~,” she smirked a twisted one. Leaving him to pick up her other gun and walk back down the corridor, she called out to Ieyasu.

“Alright, child, shall we go?”

Ieyasu gulped as he watched her, standing up slowly and following. Making his way past Masamune, he looked down at him helplessly, his gaze lingering there for awhile before Nouhime urged him to leave.

Masamune could only struggle and reach out towards Ieyasu’s back weakly, words unable to leave him at his disbelief of how powerless he was. He couldn’t stop the two as they eventually vanished into the dark reaches of the red corridor.

At that torturous moment, the only thing he could hear was his own weak, fearful breathing.

\-----

Masamune didn’t know how long he had laid there in his own blood until he managed to catch his breath, slow down the pounding of his heart, and overcome his shock. Dang, he was almost killed! And he had just let some crazy woman take Ieyasu from right under his nose.

But he figured that if he didn’t move now and do something about it, then nobody would.

“Ngrrrhhh...,” he dragged himself up forcefully, biting back against the pain in his shoulder.

Dropping against the wall for support, he pulled off his school coat, folding it and tying it up tightly around his wound in an attempt to reduce the bleeding. Dragging himself up to his feet, he felt a little lightheaded.

“Sanada... Ishida...,” he grunted as he leaned against the wall.

Forcing himself to walk down the corridor, he hoped that the two were alright, instead of being dead bodies by the time he found them.


	8. Killing Intent

Mitsunari and Yukimura were in the middle of looking for clues when a strange boy showed up out of nowhere and began shooting arrows at them, laughing like he was having all the fun.

“Mori Ranmaru! Remember that name, sirs! I’ll give you one thumb up for being able to get at least this far. Hahaha!” He had introduced himself when they had asked for his identity.

They failed to ask any further questions after that, as the boy had continued raining arrows at them. But how dare he even graze Yukimura!

“I’ll make you pay for that!” Mitsunari yelled, as though he had completely forgotten that he was fighting an armed man with bare hands.

“Mitsunari-dono! It’s too dangerous!” Yukimura tried to stop him, but the other had started running at the boy.

Even so, Ranmaru had much better reflexes than Mitsunari had expected of him. The boy dodged him easily, jumping to his side and kicking him hard, throwing him to the ground.

“Mitsunari-dono!” Yukimura shouted after him, only to have Ranmaru turn and point his bow at him. Yukimura’s eyes widened.

“Bye-bye!” Ranmaru grinned as he aimed towards the brown haired boy’s chest.

“Don’t–!” Mitsunari struggled.

But of course, Ranmaru ignored him, and was about to release his arrow when suddenly, the cracks of several gunshots were heard echoing from afar, stopping his actions. Startled, he turned to look down the dark corridors around them.

The noise had surprised Mitsunari and Yukimura as well. That direction would be where Masamune and Ieyasu had gone.

“Nouhime-sama…?” Ranmaru wondered aloud.

He straightened himself then, sliding the arrow he was holding back into its quiver, turning to address them.

“Aww, sorry, I’d have liked to play with the two of you more, but I think Nouhime-sama had found our target, so I should get going.”

“Brat! What do you mean?!” Mitsunari demanded angrily, “What’s happening over there?!”

Ranmaru only shrugged him off casually, before putting a hand on his hip and snapping his fingers.

“Guess I’ll play with you some other time,” he said without any explanation, “Get them, boys!”

“…?!”

Before the two could guess what he meant, dark shadows appeared on the floor around them, swirling and widening into bigger circles. Soon, low growls could be heard from their depths, before human hands clawed out from inside. Following that, the samurai that had been chasing them outside all this time came crawling out, surrounding them.

Mitsunari and Yukimura tensed, closing up until their backs were pressed onto each other’s. Ranmaru was only watching their increasing panic with glee from behind.

“How do you like my underlings? They’ll take good care of you. Have fun,” he said, “Got something to do now, so see you!”

And with that, he turned away and ran off.

“W-Wait!” Yukimura called after him, but the boy had vanished down the corridor. The warriors around them closed in on them even more.

“Yukimura, stay behind me,” Mitsunari warned.

“But Mitsunari-dono…!”

“They don’t seem to be armed. Let’s do our best to break free of them. Run as fast as you can once you have. Ready?” The silver haired boy instructed.

Yukimura’s expression sharpened as he nodded. On Mitsunari’s signal, they rushed to the thinnest side of the crowd surrounding them.

The two threw punches with everything they had got. But it was then that they realized that the warriors weren’t trying to fight them–They were trying to _catch_ them.

“What?!” Mitsunari gasped, surprised when the armored warriors he was just trying to hit suddenly grabbed him by his arms.

“Mitsunari-dono! MITSUNARI-DONOOO!!” Yukimura shouted as those around him grabbed onto him as well and pulled him away from his friend roughly.

“Yukimura! Darn it, get your hands off him!” Mitsunari protested.

With a strong swing, he wrung one of his arms free, knocking away the warrior holding him. Seeing his resistance, the others around him shoved him down and began to beat him up. He held his arms up over his head and face for protection, gritting his teeth against the pain.

“Mitsunari-DONO!!”

The last things he heard before he passed out were Yukimura’s pleas for his attackers to stop and let him go.

—–

Mitsunari woke up to dampness in the air and the sound of dripping water. He felt the tenderness of a gentle hand stroking his cheek. Startled as things came back to him, he sat up with a gasp, grabbing the hand on his face by the wrist.

“Mi-Mitsunari-dono… It hurts…,” a familiar voice yelped.

Mitsunari turned to see Yukimura biting his lip, trying to break free from his grip. Realizing what he was doing, he let the other go and apologized.

“Yukimura…! …Forgive me for that…,” he said softly. Yukimura shook his head.

“It’s okay. You’re hurt. Come closer so I can stick this on your wound,” he replied, holding up a bandaid. So Mitsunari did as he was told and allowed himself to be treated, looking apologetically at the red marks he had unintentionally left on the other’s wrist.

“….What happened?” He asked, slowly taking in his surroundings.

It seemed that they were seated in a wide stone cave. It was damp and dim, their only source of light being the barred hole in the ceiling. Even then, their light was the reddish glow that seemed to surround the area, providing no comfort at all. The strange purple skies were visible on the other side.

“This looks like the dungeon,” Yukimura guessed, finishing his job and pressing the sticky parts of the bandaid down to make sure that it stuck well. “After they knocked you out, they dragged us out of the mansion and threw us down here, from that hole up there,” he continued his explanation, looking up.

“You okay?” He asked, looking back to Mitsunari. Mitsunari nodded in reply, before frowning and looking at him with sharp eyes.

“Did they do anything to you?” He demanded, a suppressed growl in his voice, looking like he was ready to kill someone. His eyes probed the other for any signs of wounds or bruises.

“…,” Yukimura tensed a little.

It was the first time he had seen the other with such a fierce look and felt such pressure. Mitsunari eyes seemed to have this strong killing intent and it frightened him a little. But returning to answering what was asked of him, he wasn’t harmed, so he shook his head.

“Good,” Mitsunari sighed in relief, his expression easing out again. Yukimura let go of the breath he was holding with him. The silver haired boy stood up and looked around then.

“Those corridors there look like they might lead somewhere. Let’s look for a way out before that brat comes back. Date and Ieyasu would better be alright when we find them,” he invited gently this time, stretching a hand out to Yukimura. The latter looked at it for awhile, before nodding and taking it.


	9. Uncertainty

A chaotic mix of questions and anxiety ensued inside Ieyasu’s head as he followed Nouhime quietly.

They had left the residential areas behind them, and his escort was now leading him through the castle grounds and up a few sets of stairs, heading to some higher grounds near the main castle tower.

Ieyasu turned his head back, as if expecting Masamune to suddenly show up and say that he was alright, but now he could only _hope_ he was. Had he found Sanada and Mitsunari? Were they alright, too? Would they be trying to find a way to save him right now? Or had they decided to abandon him because it was too dangerous?

“Takechiyo, are you alright?”

A gentle tone, and a soft touch on his shoulder that was nothing like the woman he saw earlier jolted him back. Realizing that he had stopped walking, he turned to be greeted by Nouhime’s worried features. Their eyes met, and he wondered how much more beautiful she would be if it weren’t for the red lighting of the area.

Captivated by her looks and still unsure of how to respond, he nodded lightly. But he couldn’t help stealing another glance back down at the residential areas behind them. Nouhime’s hand slid back to her side.

“Sorry to have done that. I suppose I got a little… carried away…,” she said quietly.

“That doesn’t justify your actions…,” Ieyasu replied, looking away and trying to hold back his anger. His nails dug into his palms deeply as he balled his hands into fists beside him.

“He… He could have died. He’s my friend, and you just–…”

Nouhime sighed, clearly feeling a little guilty, but replied back to him anyway, “Well, that happens when you’ve been locked up here for ages without any entertainment.” She turned around, getting ready to walk again.

“But worry not, Takechiyo. When you meet my husband later, everything else would be meaningless. The both of you shared a stronger bond than anyone else. That’s what had connected us together and called you here. You had even opened the gates and entered on your own volition.”

Once he heard that, the build up and confusion in Ieyasu’s head finally broke out of control, and he exploded.

“Look, I really think that you’ve got the wrong person! I’m just an average school kid and I _never_ had any wish to even _be_ here! Or for any of this to happen. The four of us were just random people who were lost here, so if you’d kindly show us the way out, we’ll leave immediately and stop disturbing you!”

Yes, there was _no way_ he’d want to get into this scary place by himself! He saw how Masamune and the others almost got _killed_! And who knows what was about to happen to him right now? Why in the world would he want to put himself and his own friends in danger?

Continuously being told things that he didn’t understand was starting to get to him. He had been playing along so far, in hopes that it might lead him to an exit faster. But seeing that it only got matters worse, he decided to just drop the act and tell his situation frankly to her face.

“And are you even Nouhime, really? The princess had left this world all those years ago, so we can’t possibly exist at the same time. What is this place, anyway? Please drop the act and tell me what’s actually going on!” He told her boldly.

Nouhime listened to him till he finished. She sighed then.

“…That’s right, Takechiyo… Oda Nobunaga and Nouhime, they had perished at Honnoji a long time ago, devoured by the flames caused by their vassal’s betrayal.”

“…?”

Nouhime turned to look at him, a smile on her face.

“You’re currently talking to a ghost,” she told him.

“W-What… do you mean…?”

Ieyasu wasn’t sure whether this was also a part of the act, but before he could think upon it, Nouhime moved closer to him, the hands she placed on his shoulders cold. She traced her palms up his shoulders and up his neck, until they came to rest at the sides of his face, forcing him to look straight into her mysterious, dark eyes.

“We may have died, but we’re still here, trapped in this dimension, waiting to get out… Waiting for our… _resurrection_ …,” she whispered out, sending a shiver down his spine.

_“You have no idea how long we had been waiting…”_

She reached up and leaned in to kiss his cheek softly. Ieyasu gasped.

_A flash._

_A very bright sunny day and the shade of the trees. Nouhime pulled away from him after the kiss with a gentle smile, wishing him good luck and telling him to have fun. She turned away and walked towards a man standing some distance from them, waiting for her._

_The light was too bright for Ieyasu to discern his face, but he could tell that he was smiling at him, making him feel warm. The man turned and walked away then, Nouhime following as his grand, red cloak billowed proudly in the wind._

_Ieyasu could feel himself slowly reach out to them, his chest hollowing out with a sense of loss and sadness, as if he would never see them again. The white light around them glowed brightly and swallowed everything._

By the time everything faded back and he could see again, he had returned to where he was, sweating and panting on the ground on all fours, a little shocked by how everything felt so real. A new string of questions flooded his mind.

Nouhime was looking down at him, tilting her head. A whole new sense of familiarity hit him when he saw her face again, as if he had known her forever.

“…Things coming back to you? If you’re looking for answers, they should be at Kazusanosuke-sama’s place… Come, now,” she said, holding out a hand to him.

Ieyasu looked at it, but didn’t take it and got up without her help. He took a few steps back, looked at her dubiously, glanced back down the stairs, and back at her again. He felt a strong pull to follow her, but she looked like the point of no return to him. Like if he figured out more than this, he wouldn’t be able to go back to his normal life, or see his friends again. And that fear stopped him.

His feet wouldn’t budge, unsure of whether he should keep going or just forget about everything, turn away and run. Nouhime chuckled.

“Takechiyo, are you sure you want to keep everything buried?” She asked, “Leave the questions that mattered to you the most unanswered?”

She pulled out her gun again. Ieyasu froze.

“Either way, I’m not giving you an option. Kazusanosuke-sama’s wishes are to be fulfilled. And I shall see to it that they are even if I should do it by force.”

“………,” Ieyasu gulped nervously. Despite his uncertainty, he decided to follow her for now. He felt as though he could only sit as he was helplessly sucked into the whole situation. 


End file.
